Multicultural Counseling Competencies : Individual and Organizational Development

This book will provide practitioners, researchers and counsellor trainers with the knowledge they need to influence more competent therapeutic practice with a diverse clientele. It is a companion volume to Volume 7 in the Multicultural Aspects of Counseling series.

Multicultural Counseling Competencies is a state-of-the-art book integrating the literature and work on multicultural counseling competencies. It draws out implications for individual, professional, and institutional development by identifying the characteristics related to culturally competent mental health care. As such, it has relevance for practitioners who will increasingly encounter client populations who differ from them in terms of race, culture, and ethnicity; it suggests how the mental health profession needs to alter its practices to fit the needs of the culturally different in our society; and it advocates changes in mental health policy, programs, and organization. In a very systematic manner, the text provides a working definition of "multiculturalism" from which counselors, therapists, and social workers can ground their awareness, knowledge, and skills. It presents a new concept called "ethnocentric monoculturalism" and traces how it has inundated our society and the mental health professions. Written by leaders in the field of multicultural counseling, Multicultural Counseling Competencies is a landmark volume in clinical and counseling psychology, educational psychology, gender studies, nursing, social work, psychology, health services, interpersonal violence, and ethnic studies.